By Land or By Sea
Hemingway’s Island Grill
Untie your motor boat, sailboat, jet ski or get out your paddle board to arrive in style and enjoy the water. The added benefit is enjoying the beautiful waterfront view while you dine.
Several local restaurants offer fresh seafood, steaks, salads, sandwiches in addition to a selection from the bar, all with a view of local waters.
Love music? Enjoy the sounds of live musicians while dining, or while enjoying dessert and an after dinner drink.
Many restaurants offer docks and piers for tying up your craft, if the weather is accommodating. Otherwise, all are accessible the old fashioned way, by car, and you can still enjoy a spectacular waterfront view.
Surf Burger 500 Quietwater Beach Blvd
Pensacola Beach, FL
850-932-1417
surf-burger.com
The Grand Marlin
Located high above Santa Rosa Sound, Surf Burger delivers a delicious selection of burgers, sandwiches and dogs along with ice cold beverages. The casual atmosphere is 100 percent Pensacola Beach, and you’ll see bathing suits, flip flops, shorts and dresses mixed among the work attire of those taking a break during their day.
Order the Surf Burger and you’ll get a generous 1/3 pound of fresh ground chuck on a kaiser roll, served in a basket with their signature “sticks,” also known as twice fried russet potatoes or sweet hula chips made with sweet potatoes. Lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle and “secret sauce” are served on the side.
Dine indoors or on their deck for an unparalleled view of the Sound.
Surf Chick is a grilled chicken sandwich, served on a huge kaiser roll, in a basket with your choice of fries.
The Cajun Pipeline is a 1/4 lb. Cajun sausage dressed with chili, cheese, grilled onions.
Hooter’s
You can also get a Shrimp Boat, Long Board (hot dog), salad, fish sandwich and more from their extensive menu.
Surf Burger opens early for breakfast, offering pancakes, has browns, and the Barrel, a flour tortilla grilled with egg and cheese, served with “crushed coral,” or hash browns.
Entree prices range from $6.25 for the Short Board (hot dog) to $9.95 for the Big Kahuna, a double Surf Burger.
Surf Burger offers mixed drinks, beer, and soft drinks. It is located on Pensacola Beach Blvd. beside Key Sailing.
The Grand Marlin 400 Pensacola Beach Blvd.
Pensacola Beach
850-677-9153
One of the newest restaurants in the area is also one of the finest. The Grand Marlin has it all – breathtaking Sound views, a fully stocked bar, live music, group seating, and fantastic sunsets.
Despite all this, the food is still the star of the show, with a large menu that features seafood, steaks, salads, sandwiches and a raw bar serving freshly shucked oysters.
Select from entrees such as Wild American Shrimp and Grits, Mojo Chicken or Caribbean Grilled Lobster tail. The service is second to none and you will be pampered by the excellent staff. After a great experience, you’ll want to don a souvenir T-shirt from the Grand Marlin ship’s store. Paradise Bar & Grill
21 Via de Luna,
Pensacola Beach
850-916-5087
“Boat it, bike it or walk it” to the hottest spot on the island, where you can enjoy live entertainment every weekend. Paradise Bar & Grill has earned a reputation as a locals’ bar.
Tucked away in a secluded corner, away from the mainstream, Paradise Bar & Grill is the perfect spot to kick back and relax in one of the lounge chairs and let the beat of island music carry you away. Paradise Bar & Grill is mere steps from the waterline.
H2O
This tropical retreat serves lunch and dinner daily al fresco. Great food and cheap prices has always been the trademark which is why diners from Santa Rosa, Escambia and even Okaloosa county come to dine at this soundside retreat.
Paradise Bar & Grill also offer nightly specials throughout the week, so stop by and see why this hide away remains the best kept secret of the locals on the island.
The Oar House
1000 S. Pace Blvd., Pensacola
850-432-9620
Located on Bayou Chico, The Oar House offers an ever changing view of boat traffic. Enjoy a cool breeze off the water while you enjoy a tropical refreshment, Key Largo Boiled Shrimp, Bayou Nachos, and the Big Oar Salad topped with your choice of fish, chicken, crawfish, crab cake. shrimp and oysters.
Bimini Beach Bar
The menu states that The Oar House serves “the best steak in Pensacola,” and for $22.95, it may be the best priced as well.
You can satisfy everyone in your family at the Oar House, with sandwiches, Cajun food, steaks, seafood and more, and enjoy the parade of motorboats, sailboats, yachts and working craft making their way in and out of Pensacola Bay.
Hooter’s 400 Quietwater Beach Rd.
Pensacola Beach
850-934-9464
What is better than eating at a Hooter’s restaurant? Eating at one with a waterfront view, of course! Hooter’s on Pensacola Beach, known for its view on the inside of the restaurant (and you know that that means) is enhanced by the view of Santa Rosa Sound from the Boardwalk restaurant on Pensacola Beach. Try their famous chicken wings, fried pickles or get a mouth watering burger, chicken strips or cobb salad from their ample menu.
The Oar House
Of course you can catch your favorite team playing on their many TVs and enjoy a cocktail at the same time.
As restaurants go, this one’s near perfect!
H2O (Inside the Hilton)
12 Via de Luna
850-343-6791 www.eatatH2O.com
Hilton Pensacola Beach Gulf Front meets the expectations of their leisure travelers and vacation guests alike with the convenient and cozy Bonsai Sushi Bar located off H2O in the hotel lobby area.
Sushi, nigiri, salads and soups are all on the menu at Bonsai. And you can take delicious selections from Bonsai Sushi Bar poolside! H2O overlooks a spectacular array of pools and fountains in addition to the emerald waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
Surf Burger
The main dining area, H2O offers a blend of Cajun and Asian entrees called C’asian -- a fusion that wakes up the flavor of both disciplines.
Stroll on the sugar white sands before or after you dine, or relax inside in their cozy conversation pits close to the fully stocked bar.
The atmosphere at Bonsai Sushi Bar and H2O is casually elegant but the service is first class inside this luxurious hotel that is outfitted with so many amenities.
Hemingway’s
Island Grill 400 Quietwater Beach Rd.
Pensacola Beach
850-934-4747
Live the lifestyle made famous by “Papa” Ernest Hemingway.
Known for going for the gusto in life, Hemingway inspired the tropical island atmosphere and menu at Hemingway’s Island Grill.
Coconut Shrimp, Key West Ribs and Ahi Tuna beckon from the appetizer menu, and they arrive just after your first Margarita or Mojito from the fully stocked bar.
Gaze over the generous deck to the expanse of Santa Rosa Sound and watch motor boats, jet skis and catamarans compete for a spot to drop anchor and listen the the live music wafting off Hemingway’s deck.
Salads include the Havana Gun Club Steak Salad, featuring a tender skirt steak on a bed of mixed greens. Entrees range from steak, shrimp and pork to fish, pasta and sandwiches including, what else, the Cuban, to pay homage to Hemingway’s years in Havana.
